South Africa has a diverse and extensive transport system that includes road, rail, air, and maritime infrastructure. The country has one of the most developed road networks in Africa.
While many residents rely on informal minibus taxis for daily commuting, formal public transport systems, such as private bus systems, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes, e-hailing license systems, and both underground and overland rail, have been implemented in major cities, to provide safer and better-regulated transit services.
Road network in the predominantly suburban Atlantic Seaboard region of Cape Town
Cape Town is regarded to have the best-run and best-maintained transport infrastructure. The city dedicates a significant portion of its annual budget to transport infrastructure investment, and continues to develop transit systems. Cape Town's Metrorail commuter rail system features modern trains, manufactured by Gibela. The city also has dedicated bike lanes, and a far-reaching, tap-to-pay BRT system (MyCiTi), which employs dedicated bus lanes on freeways and major roads.
South Africa’s road infrastructure expanded significantly during the apartheid era, particularly to facilitate the transport of Black workers who had been forcibly relocated to Bantustans. This expansion included substantial government subsidies, sometimes exceeding $1,000 per commuter. In some regions, such as KwaNdebele, the state’s bus subsidy exceeded the area's gross domestic product.[2]
In 2002, South Africa had 362,099km of highways and 73,506km of paved (including 239km of expressways).[2]
The term freeway in South Africa differs from most other parts of the world. A freeway is a road where certain restrictions apply.[3] The following are forbidden from using a freeway:
Drivers on freeways must observe a minimum speed of 60 km/h and may not use hand signals except in emergencies. On multi-lane carriageways, slower drivers are required to keep left to allow faster vehicles to overtake.
Despite the popular opinion that "freeway" means a road with at least two carriageways, single-carriageway freeways exist.[4] The Afrikaans translation of freeway is snelweg (literally fast road or expressway).
E-hailing
South Africa has licensed numerous private operators to run e-hailing services, whereby taxis are sourced through mobile apps, on demand. Operators include Uber and Bolt. Availability is good in major cities.
Since 2025, e-hailing drivers are required to register for e-hailing operating licenses. Under these permits, drivers are restricted to operating in specific jurisdictions. The new legislation is aimed at improving e-hailing safety and service quality.[5]
Minibus Taxis
Minibus taxis are the most widely used mode of public transport in South Africa.[6] This is due to their availability and affordability to the public.[7] In 2021, there were 349,671 registered minibuses in South Africa[8] with 73,953 unroadworthy or unlicensed minibuses.[8] The taxi industry operates with minimal government subsidy and oversight.
Vehicles are often poorly maintained, and labour practices within the sector are not consistently regulated.[9] Because many taxi owners own just a few taxis and each owner may choose to manage their business differently, there is not much known as to the inner workings of the industry. Efforts to formalise the industry have been ongoing since 1994, but as taxi organisations often don't abide by labour regulations, relationships between taxi operators and the state are often strained.
The City of Cape Town has clarified that developing public transportation is a priority to achieve its long-term developmental goals. As such, the city has planned the development of an Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system called MyCiTi IRT. In 2007, the construction of this system began with the implementation of Cape Town's "Bus Rapid Transit" system.
This first phase has been designed to enable easy integration of other forms of public transport – ranging from cycling to South Africa's famous minibuses in later stages of the IRT development[10] – including rail transit, seen currently as "the backbone of public transportation in Cape Town."[11]
Carpooling
Carpooling, locally called “lift clubs” or “hikes”, is the practice of sharing a private vehicle for commuter or long-distance travel. Long established in informal community networks, it has gained renewed attention because of rising transport costs, road congestion and climate-policy goals.[12][13] Cape Town’s 2025 mobility strategy identifies carpooling as a key congestion-reduction measure but also highlights barriers such as the absence of explicit provisions for non-commercial ride-sharing in the National Land Transport Act (2009, amended 2016), inconsistent insurance cover, and safety concerns cited by 34% of surveyed commuters.[14]
History and organisation
Informal lift clubs have been documented since at least the 1950s and expanded during the 1980s fuel-price shocks. Rural “hike” points—designated roadside waiting areas—remain common on major highways.[15] To this date, most arrangements remain organised informally, often via Facebook groups or WhatsApp chats. International interest rose in 2007 when Logan Green cited Zimbabwean hitch-hiking culture as inspiration for founding the U.S. platform Zimride (later Lyft).[16]
Recent developments
After a decade-long lull, carpooling rebounded in the mid-2020s amid public-transport constraints and increased institutional support. It supported the growth of digital platforms such as Crab a Ride, an AI powered carpooling platform, launched in 2024.[14][17] Other platforms and projects focus on more niche markets, such as Circles for intra-company commuting,[18] Liftsearch for transport between Limpopo and Gauteng,[19] LyftClub for urban commuters,[20] and university-specific services like Stellenbosch Lift Club.[21]
Potential benefits and Performance
Higher carpooling adoption leads to significant benefits that are now well established. French ride-sharing studies report that each regular carpooler avoids ≈0.5 t of CO2 annually and saves about US$2 000 in transport costs per person annually.[22] Similar adoption in South Africa would yield significant economic and environmental benefit: over R260 million saved in fuel cost annually, removing 4 million cars from the road daily, while avoiding over 4.5 million tons of CO2 every year. For context, these CO2 savings equal roughly 9% of 2023 road-transport emissions, while the monetary savings exceed the annual budget of the Gauteng provincial government.[23][24]
Finally, the comparative performance of carpooling with alternative modes of transport is well established and is summarised in the table below.
Mode
Average cost (R / km)
Door-to-door time (min)
Peak-hour reliability
Lift clubs
1.2–1.8
35–45
87%
Minibus taxis
2.5–3.5
55–90
64%
Scheduled buses
4.0–6.0
60–120
58%
Source: National Household Travel Survey 2020; City of Cape Town Travel Demand Management Unit.
Road transport safety
South Africa's road traffic system might be less effective than most industrial countries, but it is not worse than other African nations. South Africa has an institutional framework for road safety led by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). South African transport laws follow global best practices, and the government has implemented and consistently updated legislation governing speed limits, drinking and driving, smoking in vehicles, motorcycle helmets, the wearing of seatbelts, child restraints, and mobile phone use.[25]
South Africa counts 26 deaths each year for 100,000 people (260 per million), a higher rate than the global average of 18 per 100,000 (180 per million).[25]
In 2021, the country recorded 12,541 road fatalities for 11,726,476 vehicles (7.6 million motor vehicles and over 2.6 million light commercial vehicles).[26] with "motor vehicle" including vehicles such as motorcycles and motor tricycles.
People killed in road accidents are mostly pedestrians with a percentage of 37.6%. Passengers suffer 32% of fatalities and drivers 27%.[27]
58% of road deaths are attributed to alcohol use, which makes alcohol a leading factor in such fatalities.[25] South Africa had the highest number of drunk driving incidents according to a WHO survey.[27]
Pedestrians may be affected by a 60km/h posted speed limit in residential and urban areas, a speed so excessive that it reduces pedestrians' chance of survival.[27]
According to some sources, 31% of South African drivers wear seatbelts,[25] while other sources claim a 45 to 60% compliance rate for drivers.[27]
Vehicle maintenance issues cause 9% of road accidents, including tyres, brakes, and lights issues.[27] When vehicle safety is involved, tyres are the first issue in 41% of vehicle factors.[8]
On 2010-06-07 the Gautrain opened between Oliver R Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) and Sandton. This is the first stage of a standard gauge passenger line connecting Johannesburg, Pretoria and ORTIA.[29]
South Africa's rail network connects with neighbouring countries including Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
South Africa has international airports in four cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Nelspruit. The main international airports are in Johannesburg and, to a lesser extent, Cape Town. Nelspruit's international airport mainly serves travellers en route to the Kruger National Park.[30]
As of 2018, the merchant marine fleet included 15 vessels with a combined gross tonnage of 431,133GT
Pipelines
South Africa has an extensive pipeline network for crude oil, refined petroleum, and natural gas. The system is primarily operated by Petronet, a Transnet subsidiary. The pipeline network includes:
Many urban tramway systems operated in South Africa but no longer do so. The last system (in Johannesburg) began in 1890 as Rand Tramway (electrified in 1906) and ceased operations in 1961.[32]
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